Piney Island “Face Rock,” c. 4000 BPThis 5 inch diameter river cobble was uncovered in 1
Piney Island “Face Rock,” c. 4000 BPThis 5 inch diameter river cobble was uncovered in 1973 during excavations of Piney Island, located on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. The object is from the Transitional Period of Pennsylvania Prehistory, which occurred approximately between 2700 and 4300 years ago. Sometimes known as the Terminal Archaic , the Transitional Period represents a transition in lifeways between Archaic Period foraging and Woodland Period sedentary Agriculture. The Face Rock may have been created by the Native Americans who lived on Piney Island during the Transitional period, or it may have come to the inhabitants by trade. The object may have been painted and even decorated with feathers, but this is just conjecture. The Face Rock is considered to be the earliest nonutilitarian object to be found in Pennsylvania, indicating that three to four millennia ago people in this region were beginning to portray likenesses of human features on objects, creating a form of art. The Piney Island Face Rock is on display in the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. -- source link